Safed Ban-Methi / White Sweet Clover
Melilotus albus
Also known as White Melilot
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan & more
- Flowering
- January-April
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Melilotus albus
- Genus
- Melilotus
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Weed of cultivated fields
- Habitat type
- Cultivated, Wasteland
- Distribution
- Tropical Asia, Africa, Europe, Caribbean islands, Pacific Islands, Introduced in Northern Central America
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-April
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The 1/2 - 2 inch long alternate leaves are trifoliate and sparsely distributed along the stem and alternate in arrangement.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- TrifoliaterecordedA compound leaf made of exactly three leaflets.“The 1/2 - 2 inch long alternate leaves are trifoliate and sparsely distributed along the stem and alternate in arrangement.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Safed Ban-Methi itself; the rest are typical of the Fabaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- RacemerecordedIndividual stalked flowers arranged along a central stem, opening from bottom to top.“The upper stems terminate in narrow racemes of white flowers about 2-6 inches long that have a tendency to hang downward from the central stalk of the raceme.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- LegumerecordedA dry pod that splits open along two seams (typical of the pea/bean family).“Melilotus albus is an annual or biennial legume that can reach 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in height.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for Safed Ban-Methi itself; the rest are typical of the Fabaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Khandai, सफ़ेद बन मेथी Safed Ban-methi
- Marathi
- पांढरी रानमेथी Ran Methi
About Safed Ban-Methi
White Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus) belongs to the Fabaceae family, where it grows as a low shrub. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and 8 other states. It grows in weed of cultivated fields. Flowering and fruiting run from January to April.
Uses
Locally it is long used in traditional medicine, harvested for fodder and used to hold soil and restore degraded ground. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Fabaceae
Legume/Bean family
Safed Ban-Methi belongs to the Fabaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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